LEGO Super Mario 18+ Lineup Expands: Nintendo Teases Full-Scale Brick-Built Yoshi Set ("Hatching Soon")
Just days after fans noticed the removal of the classic Mario and Yoshi easter egg portraits in the Switch 2 edition of Ocarina of Time, the Mushroom Kingdom's favorite green dinosaur is stepping back into the spotlight in brick form. Through a surprise post on the official Nintendo Today! mobile app, Nintendo and The LEGO Group have unveiled the first teaser for an upcoming LEGO Super Mario set in their 18+ "Adults Welcome" collector lineup, placing Yoshi front and center.
"Hatching Soon": Moving From 16-Bit Pixel Art to a Full 3D Sculpture
The teaser graphic published on the Nintendo Today! feed keeps the mystery tight while leaving zero doubt about its star subject. Set against a bright green backdrop, the image shows a close-up of Yoshi's rounded green snout and wide brick-built eyes peeking from the bottom edge of the frame, accompanied by the two-word caption "Hatching soon."
More importantly, the close-up confirms a major structural shift compared to Yoshi's previous appearance in the adult collector range. Back in October 2024, LEGO launched the Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi (71438) set. Built from 1,215 pieces, that display model recreated the duo as flat, layered 2D pixel-art sprites straight out of the 16-bit Super Nintendo classic, complete with a side crank to make Yoshi run and a rear dial to pop his tongue in and out.
By contrast, the brickwork visible in today's teaser ditches the flat pixel grid in favor of a fully sculpted, three-dimensional build. Smooth curved slopes and studless tiles shaping the bridge of Yoshi's nose and eye ridges point to a large, standalone 3D character figure designed to match the modern sculptural style of LEGO's flagship Nintendo display pieces.
LEGO Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi (Set 71438)
- 16-bit pixel-art display model inspired by Super Mario World on SNES
- Hand-cranked mechanism makes Yoshi run with Mario on his back
- Rear dial pops Yoshi's tongue in and out + Action Tag support
Where the New Yoshi Fits in the 18+ "Adults Welcome" Lineup
Ever since kicking off their partnership in 2020 with the 2,646-piece Nintendo Entertainment System (71374) and the Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block (71395), Nintendo and LEGO have maintained a clear divide between their interactive course-building playsets and their black-box 18+ collector models. Alongside retro hardware builds like the 1,911-piece LEGO PlayStation (72306) replica, the adult Super Mario line has increasingly focused on intricate, large-scale character sculptures.
Following the budget-friendly Piranha Plant (71426, 540 pieces) and the massive The Mighty Bowser (71411, 2,807 pieces), the collection recently expanded with two full-scale racing builds: Mario Kart: Mario & Standard Kart (72037, 1,972 pieces) and Mario Kart: Luigi & Mach 8 (72050, 2,234 pieces). While Nintendo and LEGO have not yet disclosed the final piece count, release date, or retail price for the new Yoshi set, recent 18+ character builds in the series typically retail between $129.99 and $169.99 (£149.99 to £159.99). Fans will also be watching closely to see whether the "Hatching soon" tagline hints at a buildable spotted Yoshi Egg display stand accompanying the figure.
My Take
From a pure industrial design perspective, translating Yoshi's soft, bulbous silhouette into angular ABS bricks is a much tougher sculptural challenge than it looks at first glance. While set 71438 pulled off a gorgeous optical illusion by sticking to a flat 16-bit side profile, capturing Yoshi's spherical snout and puffed-out cheeks in full 3D requires clever SNOT (Studs Not On Top) geometry to avoid awkward stepped gaps. Judging by this first close-up on Nintendo Today!, the transition between the printed pupil tiles, the brow ridge, and the curved dome of his nose already looks remarkably clean and right in line with the stellar sculpting on Mario & Standard Kart (72037). If the designers in Billund have paired him with a cracked spotted egg base or a hidden tongue mechanism without breaking those smooth organic lines, this 18+ Yoshi could easily become the most charming display piece in the entire Nintendo lineup.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
